Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School
Leighton Court, Dunstable, LU6 1EW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr David Bower
- Diocese
- Diocese of St Albans
- Constituency
- Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 205
- URN
- 109703
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01582663410
About this school
Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Dunstable. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 205 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 29 | 30 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 66% | 57% | 45% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 3% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 69% | 77% | 77% |
| Expected standard in maths | 79% | 67% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 79% | 83% | 83% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.40 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Central Bedfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 66% | 47.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 57% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 45% | 49.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 205 |
| 2023/24 | 209 |
| 2024/25 | 209 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School compares
Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School ranked 33rd of 48 primary schools in Central Bedfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 16% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45% | 5.2% | 14.4% | 205 | — |
| Dunstable Icknield Lower School | — | 6% | 16.2% | 295 | 0.2 miles |
| Beecroft Academy | 39% | 5.3% | 19.9% | 413 | 0.4 miles |
| Lancot School | 64% | 4.7% | 13.9% | 423 | 0.5 miles |
| Watling Lower School | — | — | — | 190 | 0.6 miles |
| Lark Rise Academy | 88% | 3.3% | 6.4% | 351 | 0.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report28 April 2026
- 2 February 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 14.35%
- English as an additional language
- 21.1%
- Overall absence
- 5.16%
- Persistent absence
- 13.37%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Dunstable Icknield Lower School0.2 miles
Primary · Dunstable
-
Beecroft Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Dunstable
-
Lancot School0.5 miles
Primary · Dunstable
-
Watling Lower School0.6 miles
Primary · Dunstable
-
Lark Rise Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Dunstable
Other schools in Dunstable
Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School ranks 12th of the 20 ranked primary schools in Dunstable.
- Ardley Hill Academy Primary
- Beecroft Academy Primary
- Dunstable Icknield Lower School Primary
- Eaton Bray Academy Primary
- Edlesborough Primary Academy Primary
- Hadrian Academy Primary
- Harlington Lower School Primary
- Houghton Regis Primary School Primary
- Kensworth Church of England Academy Primary
- Lancot School Primary
- Lark Rise Academy Primary
- St Christophers Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School teach?
- Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Dunstable.
- Who is the headteacher of Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School?
- The headteacher of Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School is Mr David Bower, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School?
- Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School has 205 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School full?
- Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School has capacity for 210 pupils and 205 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School a faith school?
- Yes. Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of St Albans.
- Does Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 66% in 2022/23 and 45% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School rank locally?
- Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School ranked 33rd of 48 primary schools in Central Bedfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 16% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School's absence rate?
- Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School's overall absence rate is 5.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 15 July 2026.